Crucial Order of Merit Milestones at stake at National Tournament
Already with two wins this season, Jack Buchanan could gain further spoils this week – image PGA of Australia
With the winner of the 2024/2025 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title (Elvis Smylie) finalised over this past weekend at the Heritage Classic in Victoria, the battle for some of the remaining at this week’s final event of the season remains well and truly alive.
This week’s National Tournament at the National Golf Club on the Mornington Peninsula could well prove crucial in the race of DP World Tour cards for the 2026 season along with the importance of finishing inside the top 50 for those looking just to retain their ongoing playing privileges in Australasia.
The leading three players on the Order of Merit at the conclusion of this week’s event will secure playing rights for next season’s DP World Tour beginning late in 2025 and, at this stage, those players are Smylie, Ryan Peake and Lucas Herbert.
With Smylie having already secured playing privileges in Europe courtesy of his win in the jointly sanctioned Australian PGA Championship, then Peake, Herbert and Cam Smith are the next three but with the possibility of either Herbert or Smith, or both, not taking up their membership then the door is open for those further down the list to stake a claim.
Jack Buchanan and/or Anthony Quayle could claim one of the three cards with a win this week and subject to the acceptance or otherwise of Herbert or Smith, a runner-up finish might be good enough.
Neither Herbert or Smith are in this week’s field, so the National Tournament takes on an additional dimension given what’s at stake.
Other players with outside chances are Curtis Luck, Corey Lamb and Jordan Doull although they too would need to rely on Herbert and Smith not taking up their cards.
At the other end of the scale are those players fighting for survival in terms of playing rights for next season with a number of players sitting either side of the top 50, anxious in their own performance this week and that of others.
